Épouse

"Tsuma" (Wife, 1953) is a very recognizable work from Naruse Mikio, not only because of its simplistic title. The director had lately made two other films about failing marriages, "Meshi" (Repast, 1951) and "Fûfu" (Husband and Wife, 1953) and the subject would come up time and time again in his subsequent films. It was a personal one for him, as his own marriage too had met a somber ending.

Like many of Naruse's more mediocre films, "Tsuma" has some tonal problems. The film starts off very casually, even comically, and we get to hear the thoughts of our married couple, played by the talented duo of Takamine Mieko and Uehara Ken. They've been married for several years now, and it has gradually grown from a joy into a burden. They don't have children, and the wife has very little to do. All around them the marriages of their friends seem to be falling apart too.

I think "Tsuma" has more potential that "Fûfu" did, but it doesn't grow into an emotional experience like "Meshi", which is clearly the best of the three. The beginning seems sloppy and doesn't frame the marital crisis as serious enough. The second half is more solid, but by then the character work seems to be drifting because it wasn't laid out well in the first place. Naruse's view of married life is very cynical. He does not believe in love and happiness, and is much more interested in showing his audience the stagnation and the boredom, as well as the quietly escalating conflicts. This would all be well and good, if the screenplay was more precise and the tone consistent.

Here, as often in happens in his films, Naruse offers no conclusions and no finality, which I liked. I just happen to think that this particular film did not do a great job to make the audience care about this particular marriage, despite the great actors involved.

(1953) Wife/ Tsuma ((In Japanese with English subtitles) DRAMA

Adapted from the novel by Fumiko Hayashi with Mineko ( Mieko Takamine) as the title character with the actual movie is really the examination between her and her employed husband, Toichi Nakagawa (Ken Uehara) for a little extra money rent out spare rooms to other people such as to the couple Hirohisa (Hajime Izu) and Eiko (Chieko Nakakita) Matsuyama and the painter/ artist Tanimura (Rentarô Mikuni). The relationship between Mineko and her husband becomes complicated as soon as her husband begins to fall for a fellow co-worker, Fusako Sagara (Yatsuko Tan'ami).

This starts as broad if uncomfortable comedy, based on the battle of the sexes and the strains of marriage in an imperfect world full of imperfect people. Slowly, tragic themes emerge as the desperation of the characters for love and security becomes clear and their aspirations become at the expense of each other. The comedy is rather obvious, with some character clichés and crude approaches.

The tragedy is more subtle, with Ken Uehara expressing a world of feeling in a single glance. By the end of the film, the characters accept mundane reality in place of dreams though with disillusioned resignation rather than the contentment a sentimental Western film might display.

The film's style changes, too, from unsatisfying short sequences in the first half to more typical Naruse long takes by the end.

Kudos for such a raw, realistic look into infidelity, marriage, and how stuck we can find ourselves to be in life; sometimes, there honestly is not much that can be done about it. We accept, we do our best, we live. We all make our choices.

Calling it the equivalent to comfort food feels too heavy. Most Naruse films are comfort hot chocolate or, more fittingly, comfort tea for me. Forgettable, but oh so pleasant and warming while watching and for the short while after.

I need to tag this for a future review that covers all the Naruse films I have seen. So many, almost all so good. Different flavors in the same good niche.